The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is providing approximately 400,000 pounds of supplies to support relief efforts in flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan. These supplies include food items (rice, beans, Atmit and powdered milk), hygiene kits, handmade quilts and medical supplies.
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Resources are being loaded into trucks at the Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City and will arrive in Pakistan in three to four weeks. Islamic Relief USA will handle shipping and on-the-ground distribution.
In responding to local media inquiries, Leishman says that while there have been approximately 2,000 deaths and 20 million people affected by this flood, Pakistan’s situation is different than Haiti’s natural disaster earlier this year.
“[There have been] fewer deaths but millions have been affected,” Leishman said. “The United Nations says there are more than 8 million people in immediate need of urgent care. Millions of people are displaced, their homes destroyed; they are hungry and in need of medical supplies and hygiene kits.”
“Islamic Relief USA is one of our great partners,” said Nate Leishman, manager of the Church’s humanitarian emergency response. “They have a significant presence in Pakistan.”
The United Nations describes the catastrophic flooding as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in UN history.”
The World Health Organization announced access to health care, including routine services, is difficult as monsoonal rains and raging floodwaters have damaged or destroyed more than 200 hospitals and clinics.